Wednesday, February 27, 2013

When shopping, I like to take a quick peek at the end of the
meat case where they sometimes have marked-down cuts that are past their prime.
I usually stay away from the smaller, thinner pieces, as they tend to go bad
faster, but once in a while I’ll find a big roast, like the one that inspired
this delicious red beef curry; and as the old saying goes, the only thing
better than a 3-pound chuck roast, is a half-priced, 3-pound chuck roast.

By the way, this “Reduced for Quick Sale” meat is generally
fine taste and texture-wise, but the surface of the meat has oxidized, so it
doesn’t look very appetizing. Other than that, it’s perfectly fine to use,
especially in a slow-braised recipe like this.

I cooked mine on low, for about 7 or 8 hours, until it was
fork tender, but if you’re in a hurry, you can do it on a higher setting.
Conventional wisdom is that the longer slower method is superior, but in all
honesty, I don’t think there's a huge difference, so suit yourself. No matter
what setting you use, simply do not stop until the meat is tender.

Some of the most frustrating emails I get, are the ones that
say, “I followed your braised-whatever recipe exactly, but the meat came out
hard.” Actually, no you didn’t. Every time I give an approximate cooking time
for something like this, I’ll always say, “or until fork tender.” So why would
anyone stop cooking it while the meat is still hard? I find it as mystifying as
I do annoying.

Anyway, assuming you don’t stop, won’t stop, until the meat
is succulent, you are in for a real treat. Feel free to add any vegetables you
like, and if you want, you can cook them separately and just add to the
finished dish. I generally don’t serve this over rice if I use potatoes, but
that's just my personal hang up, so don’t feel like you need to deny yourself that
particular pleasure. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

42 comments:

Hello Chef John.... this is an interesting crazy stew. I might try it. I was wondering though... can I add the bok choy later... as in during the last few minutes of cooking so that they're still green? I don't like how it looks being cooked so long.

I only have green curry paste at my house right now (and need to use it up soon anyway). What variations to the recipe would you recommend if I used green instead of red curry? Or should I just stick with chicken (which in my experience tends to go better with green curry than beef)?

I love your crockpot:) I used to have a nice big one like that until someone "borrowed" it.Fortunately,my in-laws remodeled right after I moved here and we got a bunch of their old stuff,including a perfectly functional, but albeit, tiny crockpot.Such a handy thing to have!Going to have to make this for our beef loving bachelor buddy.

About your reader's complaint: In addition to insufficient cooking time, meat will turn hard also if it is cooked for too long or at too high a temperature. There's a lengthy explanation of the chemistry responsible for this in the "Meats/Proteins" section of any decent molecular gastronomy textbook. You might want to advise your readers that leaving the dish in a slow-cooker for 16 hours won't make it fork tender, but rather grey, bone dry, with the texture of a sole of a shoe. Sous-vide works by controlling a relatively low temperature over a long period of time, but if you are cooking at above the boiling point of water, the meat can get overcooked and unappetizingly hard as a result. This is compounded if you use a pressure cooker--a single extra hour on the stove can render a beautiful stew completely inedible.

Hi Chef John. Curry-ous on the half price beef. Do I just walk up to the counter of my grocery store's meat department and ask for oxidized beef or is this a specialty item that I need to go to a fine foods store?

Hey Chef John, this stuff looks amazing. I'm a med student, usually very short on time, so I lived off of (Lunch and dinner) your White bean chicken breast chili for 2,5 weeks straight - and I'm still not tired of it.

I was wondering, what kind of skillets do you use? Also, would they require seasoning before their first use? Could you maybe make a video or brief explanation on how to season a pan? I tried doing it around christmas and it turned out horrible the pan now has a big black mark in it (luckily I wasn't the one who had paid for it, it was my christmas present)

O.M.G. I wish I had some of this in front of me RIGHT NOW! Sometimes your food tortures me, Chef! I am a hhhuuugggeee fan of Thai food, and this is GENIUS! Want want want. I must totally go raid the Asian section at the store and grab some chuck ;) And for the person asking about green curry and beef? GO FOR IT. I never met a green curry I did not like ;)

Loved this recipe Chef John. I chose to mix it up a bit.........I added red pepper strips instead of the tomatoes. I also added Thai Basil, and crushed lemon grass, and some bamboo strips. I left the potatoes out and served it over Pappardelle. It was so yummy, and will definitely serve it to company.

Hi Chef John! I found your blog a couple months ago and am hooked into your charming cheffery! I made this stew last night for 2 guests and they both (as well as I) raved about it. One guest is originally from Cebu, Phillippines. Thanks so much for all your efforts - I look forward to every chefisode :)

Chef John, thank you for yet another outstanding recipe that makes me look like a culinary superstar with my friends & family. This tasted so great right out of the pot and as leftovers. It made my house smell amazing! Also, I've never cooked with bok choy but after this, I've incorporated it into some of my other recipes.

Another awesome posting Chef John! I woke up at 6am to get this going so I could have this by 2pm. However after chopping my potatoes too thick I had to wait almost 1.5hours for them to get to the right consistency. I did put the bok choy in at the same time and even after the lengthy cooking time on hi, the bok choy came out good. Not too mushy and almost perfect. We love collard greens here in the south and the bok choy reminded me of a good batch of those or even cabbage. My first experience with bok choy but it will not be my last! So many good flavors here...I cant wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow after the seasonings have had 24 hrs to settle in completely...I expect it to be like BBQ...great the next day!

Chef John how much liquid is too much in a crockpot? I'm cooking this with a 1.5lb chuck roast and following the recipe but its covering my roast completely and i've read too much liquid will 'stew' the meat and make it dry and tough?

Loved by all! Used 1 cup of broth and about 2/3 can of coconut milk, halved the sugar, skipped the potatoes and corn starch, reduced the broth in a saucepan at the end instead. Trying this next time with a pork shoulder.

Thanks for uploading such a simple and tasty corn recipe which I have been searching for a long time.

Just wondering will the flavor be lowered if I use Hungary paprika instead of spanish smoked paprika? Do you think adding some cinnamon powder is feasible? I know cooking is a very personalized thing but I just wanna hear some of your opinions. Thank you :)

Chef John,Which curry paste do you use? I love Thai curry flavor and I love your recipes but in your recipes calling for curry paste your 1-2 tsp is a whole lot less than the usual 2-3 tbsp called for in the Thai curry recipes I'm accustomed to making - I'm guessing it's the paste.

Making this today for the second time for company in two days; it's a wonderful recipe. Cooking today to the point of the beef being done, and then Sunday will add the potatoes (sweet - they complement this beautifully!), the bok choi, and the chunked cooked beef.

I'm very curious, however, about why we are using chicken broth rather than beef broth in this recipe.

Thanks Chef John. Your recipes are always a hit! Next up will be the Arroz Con Pollo, which also looks amazing!

I halved it to serve two and this dish was absolutely delicious! We will be serving up the leftovers tonight over jasmine rice. My husband and I love watching Food Wishes videos and picking out dishes to make.